


An Armchair Love Story

by Chancy_Lurking



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Banned Together Bingo, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cutesy, First Relationship, Fluff, Holding Hands, M/M, Public Display of Affection, Wordcount: 100-500
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27790576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chancy_Lurking/pseuds/Chancy_Lurking
Summary: It doesn’t register at first that Luke is smitten.(Spencer is a little slow on the uptake, but slow works for them.)
Relationships: Luke Alvez/Spencer Reid
Comments: 17
Kudos: 92
Collections: Banned Together Bingo 2020





	An Armchair Love Story

**Author's Note:**

> Banned Together Bingo Square: Gays Holding Hands
> 
> Bingo!! 😊

For all the milestones that Spencer Reid blew through as a child, it’s only when he’s older that he feels the void of the ones he missed.

Making friends is hard. It takes years to learn social cues and the proper reactions to them, years past that to work up the courage to try any. He has interests he can talk about at length and eventually learns how to make that a conversation and not a lecture. Working with the BAU team helps, too, all of them smart and patient and thoroughly enamored with him.

One more so than the others, apparently.

It doesn’t register at first that Luke is smitten. Of the milestones Spencer missed, there is probably an entire book that could be dedicated to romance alone. He wasn’t _ignoring_ Luke, he just genuinely didn’t realize what he was doing. And Luke, being the genuinely nice guy he is, didn’t push the issue, especially not when Spencer did realize and proceeded to _freak the fuck out_.

JJ and Emily weren’t mean spirited in their laughter when he unloaded on them and more importantly were monumental to the end of his panicking.

“Do you _want_ to date him?” JJ cuts in.

Spencer breathes. “ _Yes_.”

Emily touches his hand. “Then maybe Alvez should know that?”

Luke should probably know, yeah.

It takes a week for Spencer to figure out the words, though, to explain what a _minefield_ romance with him would be, because he doesn’t know how this works, how to _be_ a boyfriend, doesn’t know if he would even _want_ to have sex and—

It takes two minutes for Luke to take his hand, kiss his knuckles and say, “We’ll go slow. Right up ‘til we find where we want to stay, okay?”

Spencer feels his heart clench in his chest at the words. “I’d really like that.”

They go slow and…he _likes_ slow. Likes sharing meals and good morning texts, likes having his cheeks kissed and Luke’s hands in his hair, likes how Luke’s stubble feels against his fingers.

They’re at Tara’s house, just to be near each other and Luke is nearer than the others. They’re squeezed in one armchair; Luke drinking a beer with one hand and his other holding Spencer’s hand on his thigh.

Far closer to forty than fourteen, Spencer has _butterflies_ about holding hands with a nice man. Spencer speaks and Luke turns to him like he’s delighted just to hear his voice. It’s _wildly_ distracting, but he doesn’t even remotely want it to stop, squeezes his hand when Luke strokes a thumb over his knuckles. Luke laughs at something Penelope says and sets his beer aside to tug Spencer’s legs over his lap.

The casual way Spencer gets all of Luke’s touches—one hand clasped between his, the other toying at the bone of his ankle—even when he doesn’t have all of his attention tickles Spencer’s heart.

They end the night that way; connected and happy.

Holding hands like boyfriends.


End file.
